House to ratify long-term development framework

March 31, 2016, 9:38 a.m.

Parliament is expected within the year, to ratify a long-term development framework and incorporate it into the constitution to make it binding on successive governments.

Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), the agency spearheading the development of the framework, disclosed this in Accra, at a meeting with members of the National Media Commission (NMC).

The meeting was meant to brief the NMC on the preparations towards the development of the 40-year development plan(2018-2057), and to seek collaboration on how to position the media in the development framework to perform their roles in shaping national development.

Dr. Thompson said the Commission would next month, continue with the consultations by engaging with the research institutions and civil society organisation to seek their inputs into the formulation of the plan.

“Thereafter, we shall begin with the actual development of the framework for submission to Parliament before the end of the year,” he added.

He said before submission of the document to Parliament there would be a validation workshop for all stakeholders to validate the document to capture all the issues at stake.

Dr. Thompson emphasised the role of the media in national development stressing that the media was key in the formulation and implementation of the long term development framework.

He also stressed on the need to position the media to effectively discharge its professional role with high journalistic standard.

The Director-General underscored the need for long term development plan saying “the future is already here with us, preparing for it is therefore not unrealistic”.

He explained that analysis by the commission showed the average age of a President in the Fourth Republic was 56 years adding that the future president of the country, by the commission ‘s projection was in Junior High School and would turn 56 when Ghana attains 100 years by 2057.

“The future is already here, we are actually preparing the leaders because they are already here with us,” he added.

“We need to be ambitious, we cannot sit here and be happy with what we have, “ Dr Thompson said.

The Chairman of the NMC, Kwesi Gyan Apenteng, lauded the efforts of the commission to collaborate with the NMC to position the media in the strategic long term development framework.

He noted that the media had undergone a huge transformation over the years without adequate regulatory infrastructure.